"Where exactly are we going?" Miyuki asked, irritation clearly heard in her voice.

It had been hours since they had left their homes to meet up with LadyDevimon. Hours since they had begun the long trip to the outskirts of Odaiba. It had been hours since she'd seen another human being, she realized bitterly. And hours since she'd seen a building that wasn't crumbling and abandoned by both its residences and shitty government.

"Almost there," was the only response she got from the Digimon. Miyuki huffed, her cheeks puffed out in childish ire. Meanwhile, Hikaru just sighed. He wasn't exactly pleased with her tone and growing attitude, but he didn't argue with her, not to try to reason with her anymore.

Almost my ass . Miyuki mentally scowled at the offending sun that was now high in the air, instead of hiding behind the buildings and trees. Miyuki wasn't exactly a morning person and she loathed the fact that she had to get up way before the sun had broken the horizon of night. Although, she had to admit she did enjoy watching the sunrise with its colours and red, orange and golden yellow.

As the group continued walking to this undisclosed location of LadyDevimon's ally , the small group of humans and Digimon froze as they stumbled upon a murder site of human corpses that accompanied the mass destruction of this isolated town. It made sense why the members of the government didn't stick around, assuming they had all survived the massacre.

This was definitely caused by one of Vamdemon's lackeys . But which one? Who would be this heartless to murder every adult and child? Suddenly, Miyuki's eye landed on a small child, as young as four, dead, lifeless. A sudden pit filled her stomach. The injuries on the child were identical to the ones she had received weeks ago. God, she was going to be sick.

"So," Tailmon spoke up, her eyes sizing up the amount of damage and death they were suddenly faced with. "I guess this was where he first appeared." She had approached them in her own time when she learned they were part of the back up team. Tailmon was risking a lot by even being with them, but it was going to be worth it in the end.

Hikaru didn't comment on Tailmon's observation. Whatever colour was present on his face was now gone.

"It's sad, isn't it?" asked LadyDevimon. "So many lives lost because of one mistake."

"Mis-mistake? What do you mean by that?"

"Listen well, children, every action has a reaction. And with that, actions can cause deadly consequences for both the innocent and those involved." A cold shiver travelled down her spine.

"Consequence?" Hikaru asked, his voice sounding far too small and scared to be considered recognizable.

LadyDevimon nodded. "I know it may seem hard at times, but we are in the middle of a war. Every member is important. Don't ever allow your team to drift apart, just as Taichi and his team had. Don't allow pride or pettiness to divide you or your partners. Do not make the mistake that the Chosen of the Virtues made. Being reckless, not wanting to hurt an enemy Digimon and not taking things seriously will only doom us in the end."

Hikaru and Miyuki shared a glance at the speech from LadyDevimon and fell silent. There was a lot to keep in mind to not fall into the same trap that Taichi's team had. Finally, Miyuki spoke up.

"Thank you for the heads up, LadyDevimon. We'll stay aware." She bowed out of respect.

"Now, with that said…" LadyDevimon looked directly into the pair's eyes, taking a breath in as she prepared to talk about the next topic. "It is time you got stronger. You need your Digimon to reach the Ultimate level, which means battling is in order. Meet me back at Tokyo Tower. I'll be there waiting with Clockmon to help you surpass your limits."

Miyuki nodded, along with Hikaru as LadyDevimon turned and headed off. A moment's silence passed before Miyuki spoke up. "I hope we can pull this off, Hikaru. Vamdemon's been here too long." He may be too strong…

Miyuki watched with her one eye as Hikaru stared back at her. He sighed. "I know. I'm starting to think it won't be our responsibility to beat Vamdemon, though. It's only our job to free Taichi's team, from what I can tell."

Miyuki's eye widened in realization. "Oh yeah. True."

Dracomon glanced between the two humans and huffed lightly. "How long have you thought it was our job to defeat Vamdemon?" He asked his Chosen, staring at her in confusion.

Miyuki turned her head in his direction to put him in her line of vision. "I know. I got confused."

Dracomon shook his head, exhaling through his nose. "No, you can tell me. How long have you thought it was our job to defeat Vamdemon?"

Miyuki stared back in silence for a moment. She could tell her Digimon partner was confused by her line of thinking and felt silly for even thinking it. "A while. Since we were first told we were the backup team." Miyuki sighed under her breath, soft. She felt bad for misunderstanding.

Dracomon smiled faintly. "It's perfectly fine. I just wanted to clear things up for you. I'm glad I was able to help you."

"Thanks."

There was silence as the two children reflected on everything that had happened and how they had developed over time. Eventually, Plotmon piped up.

"What will the two of you do once this is over?"

Miyuki looked at Hikaru, unsure. She didn't really have any goals on what to do once this whole chaotic mess was finished. "I suppose we could get to know Taichi's team since we will have rescued them. Other than that, I'll probably just want to rest."

"Yeah, same." Hikaru nodded, looking very tired. "It's been an exhausting time. I'll be happy after this is done."

After being shut down for almost a year for renovations, Tokyo Tower was rather impressive. However, Hikaru wasn't sure why the officials thought they needed a room that had to be the size of two large ballrooms. Upon initially inspecting the room, Hikaru noticed there was a variety of equipment piled on one side of the room. Next to the equipment were unopened boxes with hastily written names, which he could only assume were the previous owner: MetalGreymon Alterous.

Hikaru had glanced at one of the documents, but he couldn't understand the handwriting or the language used. There was a mixture of numbers and symbols that were so foreign that it made him wonder if this was even human language that he was trying to decipher.

I wonder…

"Stun Whip!" Hikaru returned his focus to the fight, only to flinch when Tailmon X slammed into the wall after failing to avoid the bolts of electricity that Lady Devimon's had shot from her hands. Tailmon X grimaced as she tried to brush off the electricity that was still coursing throughout her body. The female glared at the Virus Digimon, silently watching as Wingdramon fought in aerial hand-to-hand combat.

"She's toying with them." Hikaru couldn't help but agree with Miyuki's statement. Tailmon and Wingdramon had been giving their all ever since they reached Tokyo Tower. Yet, they couldn't seem to land a decent shot against the fallen angel. Lady Devimon didn't even look remotely tired, while their partners looked worse for wear.

"You've got to do better than that if you plan on saving the Chosen of Virtue," Lady Devimon lectured as she caught Wingdramon's fists. The Dragon Digimon lifted up his legs in reflex to kick the enemy, but the Fallen Angel was already three steps ahead of him.

Hikaru didn't see Lady Devimon twist Wingdramon's arm behind his back, preventing him from further attacking her. He didn't notice Tailmon X climbing one of the structure's many beams, her sharp claws extended and ready to slice her unsuspecting victim.

Hikaru only noticed the light radiating from the massive Holy Ring that rested around her right shoulder like a sash as she jumped from the baluster directly above Lady Devimon and Wingdramon. "Then take this on for size! Neko Punch!"

Tailmon X pulled her fist back to release an array of punches that were so fast that they were unable to see the punches seeking their target. Alas, much to their immense surprise, Lady Devimon somehow avoided all of Tailmon X's punches. The Perfect Digimon smiled as she deflected the attacks with her long powerful legs. Tailmon was stunned as both Chosen Digimon collided with each other as they began to fall from the sky.

"You failed again." She said, almost disappointed that the battle ended so quickly again. The Fallen Angel spread out her arms, her long, silvery hair flowing behind her as she stared at the falling Digimon.

Clockmon shook his head, unimpressed, as he lifted his hammer to restart time. "This will take a while."

"Darkness Wave!"

"Knock Buster!" Triceramon X countered, as Tailmon X quickly evolved to combat the more experienced opponent. The Perfect level triceratops Digimon raised one foreleg and slashed downwards, energy slicing in LadyDevimon's direction.

The Fallen Angel merely raised an eyebrow and deflected it casually. "It will take more than that to beat me. You need to become more powerful in order to be able to rescue Taichi's team."

While he watched his partner fight, Hikaru reflected and realized how he wanted to be a proper leader.

Miyuki also learned as Wingdramon fought.

LadyDevimon soon decided fighting Perfects was child's play and she upped the ante. Evolving into Lotusmon, typically dubbed a fairy-like Digimon, she made her declaration.

"It is time for the endgame. Come at me with everything you have. Evolve to Ultimate. Now."

Wingdramon and Triceramon X glanced at each other and sweatdropped a little. Would the tower be able to hold that level of power? Wingdramon was the first to shrug. If Lotusmon wanted to go all out, who were they to say no?

Both Perfect levels evolved at the same time: Wingdramon becoming Examon and Triceramon X becoming MedievalDukemon.

"Remember, your goal is to beat me. Not kill. I have my own plans for Vamdemon. I'm going to enjoy announcing my defection from his forces." Lotusmon reminded the two Ultimates who stood opposite her, a clever smile on her face at the thought of her glory.

"Understood."

"Roger that."

Lotusmon raised her arms into the air. "Now then, come at me."

And charge they did, Miyuki observed from a distance. She was proud of their efforts, proud of Examon especially. Her relationship with Dracomon had come a long way and still had a way to go, but small steps were the key to achieving great things.

Being smart about his technique this time, Examon showed a high level of intellect when he chose not to say the attack's name but simply held his gigantic lance forward and energy burst out of it.

At the same time, MedievalDukemon fired energy in the shape of a dragon from the crystal on the end of Dynas, her lance. Both attacks merged into one and hit Lotusmon with an explosion that rattled the tower a bit.

When the dust cleared, Lotusmon was on one knee. She coughed and waved away the lingering dust particles at her face.

Lotusmon stood up and congratulated the Chosen and their partners. "Bravo. I wasn't expecting that attack to be so powerful from the merge. You've done well. But in saying that, do not get cocky. Vamdemon has years of experience as a Perfect under his belt, possibly decades."

Miyuki nodded and Hikaru followed suit a second later. "Thank you for allowing us to battle you until our partners reached the Ultimate level. It was an honour to fight an ally of an ally." Miyuki spoke, bowing her head slightly.

Lotusmon studied Miyuki as the girl raised her head. "You're welcome."